Missional Women

If you’re anything like me, you give Amazon Prime a run for their money. I wonder if my neighbors think that I have an Amazon-problem. I don’t—I promise! I do have a time problem though. I am always on the go. I think that’s one of the best parts about Amazon, it does the work for you!

With that in mind, I wanted to list out a few ideas of how to use your Amazon Prime Membership for God’s Kingdom and your personal growth.

1. Support a non-profit with Amazon Smile

Amazon Smile is pretty cool, actually. If you’re anything like me, you order lots of stuff from amazon on a regular basis. Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to a non-profit of your choice. What an easy way to support the growth of God’s Kingdom—you’re already doing all the work.

2. Read Christian Books

Kindle First is a way to get free books. And, sometimes, the editors’ picks are Christian books. Getting to read more about our creator and savior for FREE—what could be better?

3. Listen to Worship Music Hello, Worship playlists. Similar to Spotify or Pandora, Amazon Prime has its own version of music streaming. There are awesome playlists for Christians to stream. Christian workout, acoustic, sleep, etc. I love music, but sometimes I get tired of the songs that I have been listening to—this is a great way to find new music.4. Bless Other PeopleSubscribe and Save. This idea is my favorite because you set it up once and then it is like a surprise in the mail every (week, month, etc.) . If you subscribe (set the frequency you would like to order something) then you save a percentage off that product every time. So Cool! I do it for things like shampoo and deodorant. Subscribe to a product that you can bless someone else with every month. Examples: -Diapers for a new family on your block -Granola Bars to keep in your car and give to the homelessLaura, the Missional Women host, tells a story about a friend of hers in college that “TP’s” people. When she visits their home she restocks their bathroom with a bunch of toilet paper. So thoughtful and it is so easy with Amazon.Any other ideas that you’ve thought of? How have you maximized your Amazon Prime Membership? ​

About Jacque

Jacque is the Missional Women Intern and a college student in Denver, CO who balances her time between trying to go to class and learning about His saving grace and perfect love as much as she can. She is a twenty something, DIY attempting, Jesus loving, Denver living, small town rooted, Colorado sports fan. She loves black coffee, long conversations and watching people do what God created them for. You can find her Christian Twenty Somethings blog at Desperately Dependent.​

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I had always secretly hated sermons on stewardship. I knew the Bible taught that all of our possessions were Gods and we were only stewards of them, but a big side of me didn't like it. I wanted the money and things I had worked for to be all about me, and not about God. However, I became more and more convicted that living like this wasn't God's best and was not pleasing to him. So, in April of 2014, my husband and I took a good look at our possessions and made some radical decisions to live like our possessions were Gods, not ours. We had a 3 bedroom house, basically as full as it could be, with clothes, electronics, furniture, etc. We owned a car, an SUV, a motorcycle and 2 bicycles. We both love crafts and hobbies, so we had various boxes filled with paints, yarn, modeling supplies, scrapbooking materials, and many other well-intended projects. There were boxes and boxes of books that I had great intentions of reading, and the list continues. We took a good look around, and it felt suffocating. Compared to many Americans, we lived in a small house and had meager belongings, most of our furniture was cheap or free, and most of our 3 closets full of clothing had come from second hand stores. However, the sheer volume of it was unsettling to us.

So, we sold it all.

We sold everything except what would fit in our cars, put these few boxes in storage at our parents house and then, we sold the cars.

I realize that this is drastic, and our giant purge was made easier by moving halfway across the world, but still, the perspective that we gained was invaluable. And, looking back almost 2 years later, I don't regret purging any of it. As we have made some necessary purchases in our new life overseas, we have tried to keep them at a minimum and think about what things we really need. Owning less stuff frees up your life so many ways. First of all, it frees up your time. One example of this is our choice to live without a car. While I realize it is not practical for each of you to function without a vehicle, Ive found going vehicle-free to be a very freeing and positive experience. I don't spend time, or money, filling my car up with gas, getting it detailed each month, buying tires, rotating tires, etc. I can invest this time and money I am saving in the kingdom, rather than in maintaining my earthly possessions. It frees up time that I can invest in my relationship with God, my husband and my daughter. It frees up valuable time I can spend doing ministry and sharing life with the women I serve.

It frees up money to give away for Jesus. Buying less stuff obviously costs less money. Spending less money means that we can give more away. We can help hurting people in practical ways by meeting their physical needs. We can support missionaries serving in various parts of the world. Also, we can afford to take vacations to exotic places and spend quality time making memories as a family because we are living below our means.

Through owning less and buying less, we are learning to be better stewards of the money that God has given us, and we are truly learning that “every good and perfect gift is from above,” because in the end, none of the things I have are about me anyway.

About Melanie

Melanie and her husband Joel live and do ministry in Bangkok, Thailand. She is mommy to baby Claire and a graduate of Denver Seminary with a degree in Intercultural Ministry. She enjoys traveling, reading and discussing theology, and spending time with her family and friends. She loves the adventure that comes with living every day in another culture. ​

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A few years ago, I joined a few girlfriends for a night out on the town. After a yummy meal and lots of girl talk, we went for a walk. We discovered an open area downtown that had lots of shops and restaurants and a big central courtyard with little carts full of wares for sale. I love looking at funky rings and trying on cute costume jewelry. I was browsing at a table with inexpensive pieces when I saw a silver piece that grabbed my attention. It had a turquoise butterfly on the front. I immediately reached for my wallet. I love butterflies. Yes, they are pretty things that fly, but for me they provide inspiration in my walk as a Christ follower. Butterflies remind me that God is transforming my life. Like a caterpillar, I am on a journey of metamorphosis. God is doing a work in my heart, and each day, I am shedding more and more of my hard shell of sin and learning to fly with greater purpose in complete freedom. In Romans 12, Paul actually challenges us to “present our bodies a living sacrifice.” He explains that we are to live transformed lives. The actual Greek word for “transformed” here is synonymous with “metamorphosis.” Basically, I am called to be a mission-minded butterfly for the Kingdom. I wore that butterfly ring for years. And, since my friends know I love butterflies, I’ve received lots more beautiful pieces as gifts over the years. I actually own a pair of butterfly earrings, a lapel pin, a bracelet, and a few butterfly necklaces. Not long ago, I was wearing my favorite butterfly necklace on a Saturday morning when I went to get a manicure. The girl who was making my hands look lovely was from the Dominican Republic, and we both speak Spanish. We chatted about the similarities in our upbringings and discovered that we had a great deal in common. She mentioned that she liked my necklace, and I explained it was a gift from a sweet friend who knew I loved butterflies. “Why do you like butterflies so much?” she asked. I smiled. “Well,” I explained, “I am a Christian, and butterflies remind me of how God is changing my life. Christ has set me free from a life of sin, and He is helping me to fly in freedom.” My butterfly necklace has opened up for the door for me to share the Gospel many times. Sometimes, cute jewelry is a tool for the Kingdom.

About Lyli

Lyli Dunbar loves teaching. For 17 years, she mentored teenagers in the Christian school setting, and now she has serves as Associate Director of Curriculum at Trinity International University Florida. Lyli married her Prince Charming in her 40’s and has a heart for encouraging young couples and singles in God’s waiting room. She enjoys road trips with her husband, connecting with women through Bible study, and reading way too many books. Lyli writes about life lessons and faith on her personal blog. You may also connect with her on Facebook,Twitter, and Pinterest.

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Let me start by saying I am not a professional nail stylist. I'm just a girl who desires to use even little things to glorify the Lord. I also am not a natural born evangelist but also know that when I surrendered my life to Christ, I was given an adventurous mission of telling people about Him and the amazing things He's done in my life.

So I've been thinking and experimenting with ways to use nails to get into spiritual conversations without being weird. So I was thinking of the ways God has shown off in my life and they are many. One time when I was going on a missions trip to Nepal, I was $2,000 short and right before heading to the airport the Lord provided $2,100 in a span of 5 minutes. There's more to that story but I just LOVE telling it because I had always wanted a story of God coming through in some last minute, dramatic way like that. So if I could paint a plane on my nails, I could tell people that comment on my nails about this cool story.

But let's get real, not only am I not a professional nail artist, I think my kids may be better artists than me. So I found a cute little paper airplane nail art on pinterest and thought I would try it. Here's what I did.

We'll see how it goes and if anyone comments on my nails. But I'm excited to try something new as a way to start spiritual conversations. For once the spiritual conversation is going it's pretty easy to transition to sharing the Gospel from there through asking good questions:"What is your spiritual background?" followed up with, "Where would you say your at with Jesus right now?" and "I have a crazy hard question for you. Are you up for it? If you died tonight and God said, 'Why should I let you into heaven what would you say?" and then "Well, do you want to know how the Bible (or God) would answer that?"

I'm excited to keep experimenting knowing I have freedom to fail. Want to experiment with me? I would love to hear how it goes!

Here's other ideas I had...Each of my kids and even how I met Austin have awesome God showing off stories. So the stick people could get me to brag on God that way. Then I tried to paint symbols of my testimony... but that turned out just a bit too cheesy, so I'm still figuring out how to share my testimony through nail art.

And here are a couple tools (here and here) of great questions to help you get into spiritual conversations and turn a spiritual conversation into a opportunity to share the actual Gospel.

In the past I had a hard time seeing a connection between the great commission and fashion; to me they seemed two completely different things. Lately God’s been showing me how fashion can be one of the best tools to making a statement in the world for Christ and for opening up gospel conversations. Here are four key ways God has been showing me how to use fashion and the great commission together!1. Buy cute jewelry and purses! Yes you can buy jewelry and pack around a cute purse while doing the great commission! Light Gives Heat is a non-profit Christian organization based in Grand Junction, Colorado. Light Gives Heat provides income opportunities to over 90 Ugandan women who before could not find work to provide for their families. One thing I really love about this organization is when you buy their jewelry it comes in a box with a picture and short description of the woman who spent tedious hours making your necklace or earrings. You could even use that picture to remember to pray for that woman and her family too. Here is their website so you can browse through their items! 2. Share the gospel with your hairstylist! If your hairstylist is not a Christian you have such an amazing opportunity to share your testimony and the gospel! Hairstylists are opened to listing to you since you will be there for at least thirty minutes. Take the initiative right away and start the conversation. Here are a few helpful questions that will get the conversation started: Have you ever heard my story of how God changed my life? Can I share one thing I’ve found most important to me? What has been your experience with Christianity? What do you think about Jesus? Those are just a few examples but I hope you find the time to try them out on your hairstylist and see where the conversation goes. The best part of this conversation is it can continue at your next hair appointment!3. Be courteous when you go shopping! In college I worked at Target. I loved working there because of all the cute clothes and shoes that I could get on my work discount but the thing that I dreaded the most were the inconsiderate shoppers. Working retail is no easy job. You are on your feet the entire day. You spend hours neatly folding clothes and in one second some lady comes through unfolds about twenty shirts throws them down walks away and you have to spend another hour re-folding the same shirts. Imagine what kind of witness for Christ you could be if you were considerate when you unfolded clothes by refolding them again, or turning and thanking the worker for all their hard work and acknowledge them by asking “how have you been today, has it been a tough day for you, is there anyway I can be praying for you today?” This might lead into a longer conversation or it may just end up a short conversation but the impression you made to that retail worker will last a lot longer than that and it will show them God’s kindness and love through you. 4. Make a statement with your clothes! Kylie Bisutti’s new clothing line God Inspired Fashion is a great place to look for cute clothes and accessories with scripture verses embroidered on them for you, your kids, and there’s even stuff for the men in your life too!

However it’s also inspiring to hear what Kylie did, or rather what she gave up and why, before starting this very stylish Christian clothing brand. Kylie Bisutti’s won the Victoria's Secret Angel Search in 2009, when she was 19 and newly married, this win came with a multimillion-dollar contract as a lingerie model with Victoria Secret. She soon began to see that she was not honoring God or her husband as her job asked her to flirt down the Victoria Secret runway and pose provocatively for their ads wearing nothing but lingerie.

In 2012 she gave up her multimillion-dollar contract for her relationship with her husband, and more importantly her relationship with Christ! It’s inspiring seeing a young woman who desires her relationship with God more than a Victoria Secret Modeling contract and millions of dollars, and inspiring to see that she is now using her love for God and fashion together for the great commission. Here is the website for God Inspired Fashion if you want to check it out, you can even e-mail prayer requests to the prayer team of God Inspired Fashion and they will pray for you! As you can see fashion is a valuable tool that can be used in many different ways in the great commission, and it doesn’t have to stop with the four key ideas I shared. The possibilities are endless! Even wearing modest clothes can make a statement and start a conversation with friends as to why you dress they way that you do. My prayer for you is that God would show you how he wants you to use your fashion for Him and that you would make Him look fabulous to this world!

Did you benefit from this?

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About Hope

Hope McCleary graduated from Mesa State College with a degree in Mass Communications. After graduating she spent two years working in local news at KKCO 11 News in Grand Junction, Co. She decided to give up her career in the media to share the message of Christ full-time. She joined full-time staff with Master Plan Ministries the summer of 2012 and got married to Forrest McCleary in September of 2012. Through her own personal ups and downs in college Hope has a heart for college women understand their worth as God’s daughters, to see them grow in their faith, to grow in the unique gifts God has given them, and to stand firm in their faith even with the pressures of the world all around them. Hope’s interests include world and local missions, photography, singing, playing guitar and writing music, reading, meeting new people, coffee, and hiking.

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There’s that one area of the store you constantly avoid. That item of clothing that you absolutely LOATHE buying. Maybe it’s swim suits, maybe it’s pants, for me- it’s dresses. I hate buying dresses with everything in me. I have a figure that isn’t suited to most dresses- I’m radically different sizes on top and on bottom, plus I’m wicked short so almost no dress fits me the right way. Every time that one of my sweet friends asks me to be a bridesmaid in their wedding I have a moment of sheer terror- “What if they pick an ugly bridesmaid dress?” Now let me just put your thoughts to rest, so far I’ve only been in weddings with the kindest and most gracious brides- allowing each of us to pick dresses that suit our style and body type. I realize what a serious blessing that is! But what a crazy selfish mind I have to let that be my first thought! Instead of being honored and humbled that my friend considers me special enough to stand next to her on such an important day my focus immediately turns to my bad body image! “I look horrible in _____________” We’ve all said it. We’ve all thought it. And maybe it’s true. Maybe you just should avoid bright colors, or you should choose boot cut jeans over skinnies, or stick with brown boots over black. But what if the root of that is deeper? What if it isn’t just a matter of style or knowing what suits your figure best? What if the issue is about our focus? When those words “I look horrible in ______” come out of our mouth, our focus is ultimately about ourselves. How we look, how we feel and what other people think about us. I don’t want to be one of those girls who bashes society and blames commercialism for how I view myself, but I think it’s true. We live in a society where how we look matters, where impressing others is the norm. We are conditioned to think we need ________ to make us happy, pretty, sexy, fulfilled. And the root of it for me always come down to one thing- my eyes are fixed on the temporary. The things that will pass away. My constant battle in the mall and the mirror is not looking at myself, but rather on Christ who gave me life. Our negative self-talk must be replaced with positive “God-talk” (I know that may be the cheesiest sentence ever written but stick with me for a minute…) When we replace ourselves with God, He shines through us. Instead of projecting our insecurities and fears, people see in us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. They will see Jesus through us. The next time you stare at a mirror and think “I look horrible”, take control of your thoughts! Replace that thought with “God is good” or “How merciful is our Savior” or some other praise to God. And then go out confident! Shining as the woman Christ made you to be!

About Angi

Angi loves Jesus, coffee, baseball and baking cakes. She is a missionary to college students and can't think of anything she'd rather do to serve God. Angi first met the Lord while climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa but really understood His love and grace as a freshman in college. Her heart is to invest in college students in the same way that many others invested in her. You can find her blogging over at Stuff Angi Does where she tells stories about Jesus, college students, and life. You can also find her on facebook, twitter, pintrest and instagram.

If you could use a simple daily decision, something you do everyday, to fight for justice in our world...would you do it?

I'm guessing you answered "yes," right? Who wouldn't when it is truly that simple?

Our God is so terrifically creative that He has inspired people to create and use fashion and jewelry for His glory. Even more stunning, they also can be utilized to fight injustice across the globe! The scope of God even stretches into fashion--isn't He surprisingly dynamic?

I was picking up our Christmas pictures at Wal-Mart the other day and on my way out noticed a couple cute pair of earrings for $3. $3 friends! How in the world can I not get these adorable earrings for $3!? Even if they would only last a month, they are still super cute for that month right!?

Needless to say I'm a sucker for an almost too good to be true offer. Ya know that feeling that you got ripped off. I hate that feeling. Overpaying which in my mind equals wasting money is a pet peeve of mine. I'm not sure if this is mainly a Colorado thing or if it was how I was raised but I'm just not into paying for a label or paying for something when I know I can get it cheaper somewhere else.